The present invention is directed to the packaging of solid components in a flexible substrate assembly having tube-like passageways each containing a solid component. The present invention is also directed to an article of manufacture comprising an elongated sheet of flexible substrate material, having component receiving portions for carrying a plurality of solid components, with strap-like means disposed adjacent the component receiving portions and joined to the carrier substrate so as to form a tube-like passageway for containing a solid component. The ends of the passageways can be closed to provide a substantially enclosed containment of the solid components. Also, the present invention is directed to folding or bending the substrate assembly (having a plurality of solid components secured thereto) in a bouastrophedon pattern, or winding the flexible substrate material onto a reel, for transport.
The invention is also directed to a packaging system for electrical connectors having rigid pin-like terminal means projecting therefrom. Prior to their disposition in the tube-like pasasgeways mentioned above, the components are provided with a rigid spacer which is disposed adjacent the pin-like projections to prevent damage to those projections or to prevent the projections from piercing or otherwise disturbing the flexible carrier.
In the past, solid components such as electrical connectors have been packaged in bulk by filling a plastic bag or other suitable container with a number of components in contact with each other in a random manner. However, bulk packaging is unsuitable in many applications since the solid components are subjected to damage during transport. Another more time consuming and expensive method of packaging electrical connectors has been performed by manually aligning the connectors in layers in a suitable container (such as a cardboard box), to minimize contact between the connectors during storage. A layer of compressible material is sometimes disposed between each layer of hand packed components to minimize damage to them during transport. In yet another method, solid members are disposed end-to-end in a plastic tube, but this method is relatively expensive compared to the installed cost of the solid components being packaged.
The assignee of this application has described still another method in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 597,637 filed Apr. 6, 1984. In this method, connectors or other electrical components having a plurality of rigid pin-like projections are mounted for transport by inserting the pin like projections in a carrier member which is typically comprised of a polymeric foam or the like material. However, this carrier material comprises a porous medium which readily accepts and retains certain contaminants which tend to deteriorate the electrical contact quality of the rigid pin-like projections, which comprise, for example integrated circuit terminals.
Further, with increasing miniaturization of electrical components, and the related to requirements of more exacting conductive properties of electrical terminals, insertion and withdrawal of the terminals into a porous carrier presents a significant risk of damage or deterioration to those terminals.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of making a tape-like flexible substrate carrier assembly for carrying a plurality of solid components.
These and other objects of the present invention are provided in a method of manufacturing a flexible substrate assembly from an endless source of an elongated flexible substrate including a plurality of spaced-apart component receiving regions, a plurality of solid components disposed on the substrate, one on each region, and a plurality of flexible strap means each having one end adjacent each region on one side thereof and joined a second end adjacent the opposite side of said region integrally joined by a connecting portion overlying the region to form a tube-like passageway for receiving and containing the components. The method comprises the steps of (a) presenting a component receiving region of the substrate at a work station, (b) striking the connecting portion of the flexible strap means from the substrate so that the first end remains attached to the susbstrate and the second end is a free end, (c) placing the solid component on the component receiving region, (d) positioning the free end of the strap means over the component, (e) joining the free end of the strap means to the flexible substrate so as to form a tube-like passageway for receiving and containing one of the solid components, (f) moving the flexible substrate so that the next component receiving region thereof is presented at the workstation, and (g) repeating steps (a) through (f).